Tag Archives: guardian of the person

Dear Liza , My partner and I have each executed our wills, naming the person to be legally responsible for our minor son (age 12) and indicating that our assets would flow first to one another, then to our son in the event of our deaths. We assumed that the person we have named guardian for our son would have control over these funds, but recently learned that may not be the case. The person we have named guardian is not a blood relative, and there are blood relatives living who may not want the guardianship responsibility, but want to control the funds. Also, we would not want our son to have access to all the funds upon attaining age 18, but would want funds to be able to be spent for college expenses, etc. We completely trust the guardian named to make the right decisions, but need to know how to best make this happen from a legal perspective. You, like any parent, have two different problems to solve. The first is, “Who is the best person to raise my son to age 18?” The second is what’s the best way to manage the money my son will inherit and who is right person to take care of that money?” Nominating a guardian of your son in your Will solves problem number one. To solve problem number two, you need your Will to establish a trust for your son, to hold his money until he’s older, say 25 or 30, and name a Trustee of that trust to manage the money until that time. The alternative is to name a guardian of the estate, this person would manage the money for your son, but only until age 18, when he becomes a legal adult. You can certainly name the same person to both roles, many people do. But, if the best person to raise your son would spend his college money on a pony, naming someone else is a better choice.

About Liza Weiman Hanks

Liza is an attorney who specializes in estate planning for families of all ages. She is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. A graduate of Stanford Law School, she has also served as an instructor at the Santa Clara University Law School and practiced with the state of California and a prestigious Silicon Valley firm. Liza is also the author of Busy Family's Guide to Estate Planning: 10 Steps to Peace of Mind. She lives with her family in Campbell, California.